“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
– Matthew 11:28
– Matthew 11:28
TAKE A BREAK
Christmas break of 2011 was not a break at all for me. I brought
home lots of work. Instead of spending it in quiet recollection, which I
usually did in years past, I was working, catching up on deadlines.
But one day, when I felt that my mind was getting drained and I could no longer write, I went out of the house and headed to the Greenbelt Chapel.
There, I sat before the Crucified Christ and allowed Him to soothe my tired spirit.
There, I went back to His arms and availed of the sacrament of reconciliation.
There, I thanked Him for all the blessings and trials of the year about to end.
There, I talked to Him of my hopes and wishes for the next year.
After a few hours, I was back home — more at peace and inspired to face the coming year.
Before the year 2013 ends, I hope to do it again and take a break in His presence. I hope you do, too. Tess V. Atienza
1ST READING
Experiences
do not always reflect the underlying truth or reality of everyone
involved. Two people can experience the same event in very different
ways. This is why we must always have an open mind when we have
conflicts with others. Their perception of an event may not be the same
as ours. Let us seek always to listen first, have compassion second,
and, in all things, to love. Let us try to leave judgments out of it
altogether.
Isaiah 40:25-31
27 [25] To whom can you liken me as an equal? Says the Holy One. 28 [26] Lift
up your eyes on high and see who has created these things: He leads out
their army and numbers them, calling them all by name. By his great
might and the strength of his power not one of them is missing! 29 [27] Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 30 [28] Do
you not know or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and
his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. 31 [29] He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. 32 [30] Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, 33 [31] they
that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with
eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow
faint.
P S A L M
Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10
R: O bless the Lord, my soul!
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) 3 He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. 4 He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R) 8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 10 Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. (R)
GOSPEL
Jesus
wants to help us in our trials; He wants to unburden us of the yoke of
the law that can weigh us down needlessly. The Law can become a burden
when seen or experienced apart from the love of God. It will not serve
us well if we experience it as a burden. Jesus wants to transform our
perception of the law and help us to always see it in terms of the
demands of love in our relationships with God and each other.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
REFLECTION
STRENGTH TO THE FAINTING
There
is something about the fast approaching Christmas that makes us all
look at life and everything associated with it a little differently. The
air literally gets nippier, people look happier, and time itself seems
to move faster. Expectant anticipation seems to build ever so gradually
towards an undefined high point, lending itself to an unstoppable crescendo as Simbang Gabi opens in a few days’ time.
I have been reflecting on this phenomenon since I started celebrating Masses
30 years ago. There was a time I thought it all had to do with material
gifts, with special food, and with mirth-making available only to those
who had money to spare. Now, I am having more than just second thoughts
about it. Yes, the whole country joyfully awaits Christmas. No, it is
not true that only the rich await it with wide-eyed expectation and
runaway anticipation.
So, if it’s not about material things, then what is it all about? What
explains the growing and glowing excitement that is equaled only by the
lavish Christmas lights that we see all over?
This question is not any different from another I ask myself very
often. Whenever I see people in pain, people who are hurting
indescribably, people who should have “lost it” long ago, but who keep
trudging on with faith and hope in their hearts, then I think I have an
answer — the very same answer given us today by the prophet, who stood
witness to the untold suffering of a people thrown into bitter exile in
Babylon!
It was not material things that kept them alive. Neither was it a dream or longing for something else tangible, palpable and quantifiable. Their hopes were not riveted on things and actions, but on a person!
Isaiah could not have put it any better when he wrote: “The Lord is the eternal God!… He does not faint nor grow weary… He gives strength to the fainting and vigor to the weak!”
Come now, Lord, do not delay! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB
"Jesus, help me to see that You are the reason for this season. I put my hope and trust in You."
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